How do you define 'hold time' consistently?

Define 'hold start' as the moment the caller enters queue hold and 'hold end' as the timestamp immediately before agent answers or the caller abandons. Apply these rules uniformly and document them in methodology to ensure reproducibility.

Can recorded calls be used for the study?

Yes if consent and privacy obligations are met. For PHI-containing calls, ensure a BAA is in place for third‑party platforms and follow HIPAA safeguards for storage and access.

Is electronic attestation legally binding?

Electronic signatures are enforceable under the ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. §7001) and by UETA in most states; ensure intent, consent, attribution, and reliable retention to satisfy legal validity.

How large should the sample be?

Sample size depends on desired confidence and variability; for operational metrics the sample should span multiple days and shifts, typically several hundred calls to capture variation.

What if telephony timestamps are inconsistent?

Normalize times to a single timezone and reconcile clock skew via NTP corrections. Document any adjustments and exclude records that cannot be validated.

Who reviews compliance and security?

Involve privacy/compliance, IT security, and legal teams early. Confirm encryption, access controls, and retention policies meet HIPAA and internal standards before sharing datasets.

Electronic Signature
Templates
Healthcare
Healthcare Hold Time Study

Healthcare Hold Time Study

This template is fully customizable. Edit the text, fill out the fields, and send it for signature. Give it a try!

HEALTHCARE HOLD TIME STUDY PARTICIPANT CONSENT AND DATA COLLECTION FORM

Facility Name: Study ID:

Purpose and Authorization

Purpose: The Healthcare Hold Time Study is a quality improvement initiative designed to measure telephone access, hold durations, and caller experience for administrative and clinical access lines. By completing and signing this form, I authorize the collection of call metadata and, where applicable, audio recordings of my telephone interactions with facility staff for the purposes described below.

Authorization: I authorize the Facility to collect, analyze, and retain call-hold metrics and any audio recordings made of my calls during the study period. I understand that protected health information (PHI) may be collected in connection with the recorded interactions and that such PHI will be handled in accordance with applicable privacy regulations and the facility’s policies. I understand that de-identified data may be used for quality improvement, training, reporting, and publication without additional authorization.

Participant Information

Patient Full Name

Date of Birth

Gender Male Female Other Prefer not to say

Address

Phone

Emergency Contact (Name, Phone)

Insurance Information

Insurance Provider

Policy Number

Group Number

Subscriber Name

Medical History (Relevant to Study)

Current Medications Allergies Prior Surgeries / Significant Medical History Chronic Conditions

Call Experience Log (Examples)

Please describe up to three recent telephone experiences with the facility where hold time or access delay was experienced. Provide approximate dates and times to assist matching to call records.

Call 1 — Date

Time

Department / Service

Hold Duration

Outcome / Notes Call 2 — Date

Time

Department / Service

Hold Duration

Outcome / Notes Call 3 — Date

Time

Department / Service

Hold Duration

Outcome / Notes

Risks, Benefits, and Withdrawal

Risks: There is a potential risk of inadvertent disclosure of PHI associated with recorded calls or call metadata. Reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards will be used to protect your information. You may decline to provide examples or decline recording without penalty.

Benefits: There may be no direct benefit to you. Participation may contribute to improved access and reduced hold times for patients generally.

Withdrawal: Participation is voluntary. You may withdraw consent at any time by notifying the study coordinator in writing. Withdrawal will not affect your care. Data collected prior to withdrawal may be retained for legitimate programmatic or regulatory reasons as described below.

Confidentiality and Data Use

Use: Call metadata and audio, where recorded, will be used for performance measurement, staff training, quality assurance, and aggregated reporting. Identifiable PHI will only be used or disclosed as authorized here or as required by law. De-identified data may be shared for research or educational purposes.

Retention: Records related to this study will be retained in accordance with facility policy. If you consent to recording, audio files may be retained for the purposes stated above and will be stored securely with restricted access.

Acknowledgments and Authorizations

I consent to audio recording of my telephone interactions for the purposes described above. I authorize the Facility to collect and use call metadata and PHI as described in this form. I acknowledge that I have received and understand the facility’s privacy notice and that my information will be used consistent with applicable privacy regulations.

Authorization Expiration Date (optional)

Contact: If you have questions about this study or wish to withdraw consent, provide contact details below for the study coordinator or indicate preferred method of contact.

Study Coordinator Contact (Name and Phone)

Legal Certification

By signing below I certify that I am the individual named on this form or the legal representative authorized to sign on behalf of the individual. I have read and understand the information provided, my questions (if any) have been answered, and I voluntarily consent to participation in the Healthcare Hold Time Study under the terms set forth above.

Patient Printed Name:

Signature:

Date:

If signing as legal guardian or representative, Relationship to Patient:

Guardian / Representative Printed Name (if applicable):

What the Healthcare Hold Time Study Measures

A Healthcare Hold Time Study documents how long patients wait on phone hold when contacting healthcare providers or health plans. It captures queue entry, hold start and end times, transfer and abandonment events, and context such as reason for call and caller type. The study supports operational improvement, compliance monitoring, and patient-experience reporting by producing standardized metrics for average hold time, percent abandoned, and time-to-answer across clinics, call centers, or payer lines.

Why conduct a Healthcare Hold Time Study

A structured study quantifies patient access, uncovers bottlenecks, and documents baseline performance for improvement plans. Results support compliance with access and quality standards and provide defensible metrics for management and regulators.

Who typically runs and uses these studies

Healthcare organizations, contact center managers, quality teams, and compliance officers commonly design or request hold time studies to measure access and performance.

Contact center managers monitoring daily queue performance and staffing needs.
Quality assurance teams analyzing trends and training opportunities for agents.
Compliance officers verifying access standards and documenting remediation efforts.

Study outputs inform staffing decisions, training, vendor oversight, and regulatory reporting and are shared with leadership and auditors as needed.

Core data elements to collect

Patient Identifier: De‑identified ID or hashed value

Call Timestamp: MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM

Queue or Line: Clinic or department code

Hold Start: HH:MM (24‑hour)

Hold End: HH:MM (24‑hour)

Disposition: Answered | Abandoned | Voicemail

Risks of an incomplete or incorrect study

Regulatory noncompliance: Inaccurate metrics risk citations

HIPAA exposure: Improper PHI handling can breach rules

Poor decisions: Faulty data leads to wrong staffing choices

Legal challenges: Unverifiable results may not hold in audits

Vendor disputes: Ambiguous measurement invites contract disputes

Patient harm: Unresolved delays can affect care access

Common preparation and execution mistakes

Failing to define hold-time start and end consistently leads to incomparable results across queues or sites.
Mixing live-call data with simulated calls without marking sources produces biased averages and invalid comparisons.
Neglecting to document consent or de‑identify patient data may create HIPAA compliance gaps during dataset sharing.
Using small or nonrepresentative sampling windows (single day or hour) creates misleading metrics that do not reflect typical operations.

Step-by-step: running a Healthcare Hold Time Study

Follow a clear sequence to design, collect, validate, analyze, and report hold-time results so findings are repeatable and defensible.

01

Define scope: Select queues, dates, and call types to include.
02

Specify metrics: Decide on average hold time, abandonment rate, and time‑to‑answer.
03

Collect data: Export telephony logs or record sample calls with timestamps.
04

Validate and analyze: Clean timestamps, remove outliers, and calculate summary statistics.

Where data comes from and how it travels

Typical data sources and routing paths determine collection method, privacy controls, and who receives final reports.

Telephony system: Automatic call detail records with timestamps export to CSV or analytics platforms.
Call recordings: Audio files used for verification; require consent and secured storage.
Workforce management: Schedules and staffing context imported to correlate wait times with agent levels.
Analytics repository: Aggregate metrics and dashboards shared with stakeholders.

Key components of a professional hold time report

A robust report includes defined metrics, methodology, representative sampling, statistical analysis, and compliance documentation to support decisions.

Metric Definitions

Clear, unambiguous definitions for 'hold start', 'hold end', 'abandoned', and 'time‑to‑answer' so results are reproducible and auditable by stakeholders.

Sampling Plan

A documented sampling approach covering date ranges, peak/off‑peak windows, and stratification by call type or clinic to ensure representative findings.

Data Sources

Identification of telephony logs, CRM events, and recording systems used, including export formats and any transformation steps performed during ETL.

Privacy Controls

De‑identification steps, access controls, and retention schedules that align with HIPAA and internal policies for secured handling of call data.

Analysis Methods

Statistical techniques, outlier rules, and visualization choices used to compute averages, medians, percentiles, and abandonment rates with contextual interpretation.

Compliance Notes

Documentation of legal considerations, consent language used for recordings, and any limitations or known data quality issues affecting results.

How to configure an online hold-time workflow

Settings for an online collection and reporting workflow ensure consistent capture and authorized access.

Field	Configuration
Call Timestamp Field	Auto‑populate from CDR export
Queue Identifier	Use consistent queue codes
Recording Consent Flag	Boolean field required for recordings
Access Control	Role-based access for analysts

Technical and security requirements for eSubmission

Choose platforms that support secure uploads, role-based access, and audit logging when submitting hold-time data or reports.

File formats: CSV, XLSX, or JSON accepted
Storage: Encrypted at rest (AES‑256) required
Integrations: CRM and telephony connectors needed

Typical timelines and processing expectations

Timelines depend on scope and data access. Plan realistic windows for collection, validation, and reporting to ensure reliable outputs.

Study design:

1–2 weeks to define scope and KPIs

Data collection:

1–4 weeks depending on sample size and seasonality

Data validation:

3–7 days for cleaning and verification

Analysis and reporting:

3–10 days to produce findings and dashboards

Retention and archiving:

Store raw exports and reports per retention policy

Comparing eSignature vendor pricing and capabilities

Basic pricing and capability differences affect cost and compliance choices for distributing, signing, or attesting study reports and consents.

	signNow	DocuSign	Adobe Sign	PandaDoc	HelloSign
Starting Price	$8/user/mo	$15/user/mo	$14/user/mo	$19/user/mo	$15/user/mo
Free Trial	7-day trial	Varies by plan	Varies by plan	Varies by plan	Varies by plan
Bulk Send	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Audit Trail	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
HIPAA Compliant	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No

Frequently asked questions about Healthcare Hold Time Studies

Answers to common questions about scope, data quality, legal concerns, and eSubmission practices when conducting hold-time research.

Need help? Contact support

How do you define 'hold time' consistently?
Define 'hold start' as the moment the caller enters queue hold and 'hold end' as the timestamp immediately before agent answers or the caller abandons. Apply these rules uniformly and document them in methodology to ensure reproducibility.
Can recorded calls be used for the study?
Yes if consent and privacy obligations are met. For PHI-containing calls, ensure a BAA is in place for third‑party platforms and follow HIPAA safeguards for storage and access.
Is electronic attestation legally binding?
Electronic signatures are enforceable under the ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. §7001) and by UETA in most states; ensure intent, consent, attribution, and reliable retention to satisfy legal validity.
How large should the sample be?
Sample size depends on desired confidence and variability; for operational metrics the sample should span multiple days and shifts, typically several hundred calls to capture variation.
What if telephony timestamps are inconsistent?
Normalize times to a single timezone and reconcile clock skew via NTP corrections. Document any adjustments and exclude records that cannot be validated.
Who reviews compliance and security?
Involve privacy/compliance, IT security, and legal teams early. Confirm encryption, access controls, and retention policies meet HIPAA and internal standards before sharing datasets.

be ready to get more

Join over 28 million airSlate SignNow users

Sign Now